


Sideline Stories: Zoo Date (Trini)

by UnicornAffair



Series: Wild Pitch [16]
Category: Power Rangers (2017), Power Rangers Megaforce
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/F, Jungle Fury Characters appear, Literally just light and fluffy, There really isn't much of a plot, its a double date, just cuteness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2019-04-22 13:42:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14309916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnicornAffair/pseuds/UnicornAffair
Summary: Gia and Emma were finally out, but they weren't exactly...out as a couple. Emma invites Kimberly and Trini out to the zoo for a double date.Takes place during Chapter 21 (Spring Break). No plot context is necessary.





	Sideline Stories: Zoo Date (Trini)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Barbara_Lazuli](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Barbara_Lazuli/gifts).



> Wild Pitch is officially one year old today and I wanted to celebrate that important date by writing a couple of sideline stories featuring Trini as extreme bonus chapters. Mostly fluffy. Just ways for me to say THANK you to each and every one of you that has liked, commented, reblogged, subscribed, made fan art and fan edits, even popped into my inbox on tumblr to say hi. I could not be more blessed and appreciative of everything you all have done for me. Writing this fic has really changed my life in so many ways. This fandom, I've met new friends all over the world and I've really come into my own. <3 <3 <3 please enjoy these little stories.
> 
> This ficlet is specifically to thank those who have taken time out of THEIR lives to draw or make edits and be inspired over something I had done. It's absolutely the craziest feeling and I am so so thankful. Check it out!
> 
> Barbara_Lazuli was so so kind and amazing to draw so many things. https://barbara-lazuli.tumblr.com/tagged/wild-pitch  
> @youcanbemysanity on Tumblr: http://youcanbemysanity.tumblr.com/tagged/wild-pitch  
> And I know it hasn't been posted yet but http://tokiwooki.tumblr.com/ has something in the works
> 
> I cannot thank you enough! So my gift in return is something light and fluffy and full of Trimberly and Giemma

Like every other practice, Rita worked her team to the bone. It didn’t matter that the girls were on spring break, it sure as hell didn’t matter that they just beat the number two team in Briarwood. The season wasn’t over and she was going to treat every practice, every game, as if they were already in the playoffs. They would be going to Silver Hills and facing off with the Comets by the end of the week. No rest for Angel Grove Tigers, not until the season was over with.

“Hey Trini” Emma approached the sophomore catcher as she was changing out of her practice gear. The third baseman was all ready to leave but had to wait for her girlfriend to finish up. Queen G always had to look her best, even if the only people around her were her own teammates. “I was wondering something…”

Trini pulled a hoodie over her head, nodding for the other girl to continue, “What’s up?”

“Well” She bit her lip, contemplating on how she was going to word her next question, “Gia and I are out but we’re not” Emma rubbed her forehead, “She’s still hesitant about being out in public. So I was wondering if you and Kimberly would be interested in going out with us to the zoo on Friday?”

At the sound of Kimberly’s name, the sophomore pitcher stepped over to Trini’s side, resting a hand on the small of her girlfriend’s back. Simple touches like that had become second nature to the couple. “You can just say a double date” Kim grinned, it was extremely unlike Gia to need a confidence boost. Though the former cheerleader understood, she had been in the closet for so long about her bisexuality. For someone who valued their reputation as much as Gia did, a shift into being best friends to something more...it wasn’t always a smooth transition. “We’d love to”

“Yeah?” Emma let out a breath of relief, it warmed Trini’s heart seeing how soft Emma was trying to be approaching this subject for the sake of her girlfriend. Girlfriend. It felt so foreign for the senior couple to even say the title out loud. This would be good for them. “There’s baby tigers” She smiled, “I’ve been trying to get Gia to take me for months”

Really, all Emma had to say was the phrase baby tigers and Trini would be on board. She wasn’t going to show it, but that was always her favorite part about going to a zoo. “Yeah it’ll be fun to do something together outside of softball” Really, she did mean that. The team was like a sisterhood but outside of Lauren and Mia, Trini and Kimberly didn’t exactly have many other girls who liked girls couples to do this sort of double date thing with. Besides, a day without drama with these two? That sounded like an absolute blast.

Gia saddled up next to Emma, taking her girlfriend’s duffle bag and hoisting it over her shoulder, “You ready to go?” She nodded her head in Kimberly and Trini’s direction, acknowledging their presence.

“Mhmm” Emma kissed Gia’s cheek, a thank you for being so chivalrous and carrying her bag for her, “I asked Kimberly and Trini if they wanted to join us on Friday” She could just say the phrase double date.

“Oh” Gia tried not to sound too surprised by the information, they would be having company, that would be an adjustment. Well, it was only Kimberly and Trini-resident gaymos. She knew exactly what Emma was trying to pull here by inviting them. At least it wasn’t Lauren and Mia, she’d be okay with babysitting the underclassmen. “Cool, we’re going to San Diego so it’s a bit of a trip. I’ll pick you up early?”

“Sounds great” And just like that, the two out couples of the softball team were going to go on a double date.

*****

This would be great for Kimberly and Trini...mostly for Trini. Dating wasn’t easy for her, it was an adjustment. Being romantic and doing the cute coupley things, it wasn’t exactly her vibe. For so long she was okay with hiding their relationship behind closed doors or on hiking trails. It didn’t nearly feel as good as taking Kimberly out to a festival for her birthday or even going out to that country bar with Zack and Amanda. She was finally becoming more comfortable in her own skin, going out on dates was becoming more routine. It dawned on her that Gia and Emma would probably be just as nervous as she used to be...well, maybe not on the same level. Gia’s self confidence tended to skyrocket-even if she was faking it.

It was a zoo date so casual would be the best option. Trini decked herself out in her favorite ripped jeans, much to her mother’s dismay; a loose fitting grey t-shirt, trusty beanie and her favorite pink converse. She tried not to wear the trusty shoes very often, certainly never to the Dragon’s Nest or Tiger Den. Hell no was she getting Kimberly’s Christmas gift dusty or dirty, these shoes were for special occasions….that or days she got dressed in the dark and was too tired to care.

Wanting to save Gia the time in going to pick both of them up, Trini had rode her bike to Kimberly’s house bright and early. Of course Kimberly brought her a-game. Skinny jeans, black vest and white t-shirt. Unlike Trini, Kimberly was wise and brought a purse to hold her personal belongings. “You ready for an adventure?” Kimberly asked, greeting her girlfriend with a kiss. Gia and Emma would be there any minute. “Do you think I should get us some waters?”

“Nah” Trini waved it off, if Kimberly brought them bottles of water they’d just drink it in the car. That, and at the end of the day, Trini didn’t want to be carrying around anything. “You excited?”

“I am, actually” Going to the zoo meant leaving Angel Grove and all of it’s drama for an entire day. They’d be in the big city, San Diego, where no one would actually know them. Where they could just be themselves and not really give a shit, that in itself sounded refreshing. After the past couple of weeks...they could use a break from this small harbor town.

Gia’s sexy ass yellow camaro sports car pulled up into Kimberly’s driveway; boy did Gia’s parents love her. The damn license plate was customized with a Queen G, how fitting. Since the other couple had been standing outside, Gia didn’t get the luxury of laying on the horn to grab their attention. The seniors got out of the car, with only one door the pair had to move the seats so the other couple could crawl into the back. Trini noted that for once, Gia hadn’t been wearing her trusty leather jacket. She was trying to go for a softer look with a simply yellow tank top and jeans.

Emma had been well prepared for their little outing; she wore a jean jacket, white t-shirt and pink short shorts, her camera case at her side. After what had happened with Briarwood, she kept her new camera on a short leash. “Hey guys” Emma greeted after moving her seat, since Trini had been going for her side of the car she was enveloped into a friendly hug.

"Okay so you know the rules” Once the four girls were back in the car, Gia had to turn around and speak with her guests. “No food, no drink, and no getting handsy in the backseat” She looked directly to Kimberly on that bit, Trini knew how to behave herself in someone else’s car. “Got it?” With a car as nice as this one, Gia was extremely strict on the upkeep.

“You act like I have no self control” Kimberly folded her arms, oh this was going to be a fun day if Kim and Gia were already making little comments at one another. “What do you think we’re going to do back here?”

“It just needed to be said” Gia put her sunglasses on, checking her reflection in the mirror one last time before peeling outta there. These four had places to be.

To no surprise, conversation ran smoothly between the four girls as they made their trek to the great city of San Diego. Right off the bat, Kimberly wanted no talk of softball-they dealt with it enough on a day to day basis. This day was about getting away from that life. Gia and Emma were all too happy to oblige. With Trini and Kimberly in their sophomore class they asked questions to what teachers they had, what classes they were signing up for next year. Gia would go on and on about how she loved Ms. Johnson, the english teacher back in the days when she and Emma were sophomores.

“Wow and you’re only just realizing you’re gay?” Kimberly couldn’t help but laugh, hoping that Gia could loosen up a bit more on the subject. Emma watched her girlfriend carefully, hoping she wouldn’t defensively snap--a reaction she had grown all too used to when someone tried to remotely hint at her gayass tendencies.

The blonde cracked a smile, shaking her head, she wasn’t used to saying the words...being this free. Kimberly made it sound so easy, that there was nothing to be afraid of. “You’re an ass”

“Hey, I don’t wanna hear it. She was my cheer coach.” Kim bit back, “She looks amazing in leggings” Trini had to raise a brow at that confession. Did Kimberly have the hots for her cheer coach? “All I’m saying is she’s a very attractive woman”

Emma turned in her seat, exchanging a glance with Trini, was this really….really how they were going to be spending their car ride? The sophomore catcher could only shrug, she was used to Jason, Zack and Tommy fawning over their teacher, hell Billy still claims that she was his first kiss. Everyone seemed to have a thing for Ms. Johnson. “Stop picturing it” Emma scolded in a hushed tone, knowing how quick Gia’s mind could wander. “Oh my god! She’s one of our teachers.”

“Oh as if you’ve never had a crush on a teacher” Gia and Emma been attached to the hip ever since they were five years old, oh she knew everything about her girlfriend. “You’re awfully quiet Trini, what about you? Ever think a teacher is hot?”

Trini swallowed hard, now the attention was on her. Kimberly was all too curious about the subject, “Not…..really….” She shrugged, growing up was a bit confusing for her. Back at her old schools there were certain male teachers that everyone had a crush on, they were famous for being hot. Only Trini felt nothing. If anything it was Trini’s first real clue that she was different from the other girls at school.

“Okay okay okay here’s one” Kimberly didn’t want Trini to feel on the spot, she knew that Gia could become a heat seeking missile when it came to revealing dirt, so it was best to quickly change the subject. “Coach Repulsa”

“Why?” Trini frowned, “Why?” She repeated a second time, this was not how she pictured a double date with Gia and Emma to start off. “I don’t want to think about it”

“I’m with Trini on this” Emma nodded her head, having to agree that the subject of whether or not their coach was hot was not appropriate.

“I’ll bite” Well, it certainly didn’t take long for Gia to warm up to talking about gay things once she got going. Really, that was the whole point of Emma asking Trini and Kimberly to come along. “She clearly still has the body, and I think if she took five minutes everyday to care about what she looked like she could be hot” But of course Rita lived in the trailer park and couldn’t afford to spend money on makeup and product, “I think she has potential”

“I think she’s into some really kinky stuff” Kimberly Ann Hart. Trini buried her face in her hands in complete disbelief that her girlfriend would say that. That this was the topic of their conversation.

“Oh that I believe” Gia had to agree. Coach Repulsa had been rough on her girls in practice, always pulling them up by their uniforms or getting into Lauren’s personal space. In her mind there wasn’t a doubt that their coach would be the more dominant one in a relationship. Rita Repulsa, top confirmed. “Ugh, I’ve seen her boyfriend and that is one Italian Stallion that I do not want to picture naked let alone doing...anything remotely sexual...”

Trini had only seen the boyfriend Zedd a couple of times. He was...a loser in the simplest of terms. The man grew out his long hair, thick and greasy as hell. If he wasn’t working at the famous local pizza shop with Zack and Tori he was out at the gym pumping iron and trying to buff himself up. The guy was all muscle and not much brains. The man bummed around Rita’s trailer, getting what he wanted from her and just waiting around for his father to die so he can take over the family business. He just looked like he didn’t shower much, and would reek of sweat and pizza. A winning combo. If Trini wasn’t gay before…

“She deserves better” Emma commented, wanting to completely avoid the sex part of the conversation. “I know she’s tough to love” That was putting it nicely, that woman was tough to like, “But…” There was no nice way of putting it, “She deserves better” The other three girls had to agree, they wanted what was best for their coach. She was clearly unhappy with the hand she was dealt so she put all of her focus into one thing. Getting Angel Grove a state championship.

“So…” Kimberly trailed off, leaning forward in her seat so she could be closer to Gia and Emma, “Do you think she and Coach Divatox from Harwood County had a thing?”

“Oh 100%” Gia did not even hesitate to answer that question, “They’ve definitely hooked up, my guess? Multiple times” There was no doubt in her mind that Rita Repulsa wasn’t straight, that she and Divatox had a hate/hate purely sexual relationship that blew up like a powder keg. “Which ah, good for Coach”

“Gia! Oh my god!” Emma’s cheeks started to get red from second hand embarrassment. Kimberly and Gia fed off of one another so easily, too easily. “Stop”

“What? Divatox has a killer rack” Emma’s brows rose sky high at that. “I’m not wrong” Trini had to quietly nod in agreement, it was true, Coach Divatox’s bust was insane, the woman had cleavage for days. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry” The blonde reached over for her girlfriend’s hand, giving it a soft kiss. It was the best she could do while driving down the highway. Gia may think she’s hot shit, but she fooled no one. Emma definitely could get whatever she wanted from her girlfriend.

Kimberly held in a laugh, to which Trini had to shake her head. “Why do you encourage her?”

The former cheerleader knew how to talk about other people in the room, or in this case the car, without them knowing. She got her phone out of her purse and started typing a silent message to send out to Trini.

 _Kimberly Hart 10:07_  
_So she can feel more like herself._

 _Kimberly Hart 10:07_  
_This is probably the first time she’s been able to express any sort of attraction to girls to someone who ISN’T Emma._

 _Kimberly Hart 10:08_  
_She’s spent far too long forcing herself to fake interest in boys. Trust me. It can suck._

Trini didn’t give Kim enough credit. She spent so long in the cheerleading game that talk had always been about boys. Kimberly was more like Emma, attracted to both genders, but...it was so lopsided. She never felt comfortable coming forward and talking about a crush on a female celebrity or could comment that Ms. Johnson rocked a pair of leggings. There were parts of her that would always hold back when talking to Amanda, her straight friend. Kimberly needed Gia just as much as Gia needed Kimberly. Poor Trini and Emma were the ones that had to put up with their sense of humor.

They had finally reached the San Diego Zoo. Gia made sure to keep her car parked as far away as possible. She wanted perfect spot, a pull through space where it would be less likely for a commoner to accidentally ding her beauty. With everyone having a different spring break, a Friday morning like this could be a bit of a mixed bag. Gia, Kimberly and Trini were going to have to try and watch their mouths if little kids were around. Emma had to make sure that her camera was fully ready to go before the group could leave the car in the lot. Kimberly was quick to place her hand in Trini’s back pocket. This was her habit now, a way for her to constantly cop a feel while casually walking around places. A way to keep close to Trini.

For as confident as Gia was in the safety car, she had a hard time getting herself composed. She was currently scanning the parking lot, studying their surroundings. At school she and Emma always walked around with linked arms and could be all over one another. Kids just chalked it up to being best friends. This was a date a casual date but still, taking Emma’s outstretched hand meant that she would be making a statement. “You’re okay” Emma’s voice was soft, soothing, she opened and closed her hand continuing to invite Gia to woman up and take it. “No more hiding in a closet”

The blonde took Emma’s hand, stepping forward to do one better and kiss the side of her head. “I’m okay...thank you” It amazed Trini to see Gia be so soft with another human being, but Emma brought out her best qualities.

“They’re cute” Kimberly commented, the couple watching Gia and Emma interact from far enough away, “Reminds me a lot of us”

“Mm” Trini agreed, like Trini and Kimberly, Gia and Emma had met when they were children. It was a question that had been on Kimberly’s mind… if Trini didn’t move away would they still end up together? The senior couple spent so much time in a closet, hiding a relationship from their friends and family. Yeah, Trini could see the similarities too. “C’mon” Trini wasn’t the type to whine, but damn they had a lot of walking to do, “I wanna see some baby tiger cubs”

The Fab Four bought their tickets to the zoo and was about to enter when Kimberly stopped another young couple, handing them her cellphone and asking to take a group picture in front of the entrance. Like Emma, Kimberly was a nostalgic at heart. She loved photos; her entire room had been decorated with pictures. Memories. Some better than others. As much as it pained Kimberly to look at it, she still kept up some old photos from her good old KARM days. Kimberly, Amanda, Rebecca and Megan. Time went on, she made a new life with a new family. The softball team became a sisterhood, and now she could put a photo of her new friends, her girlfriend. These were the days of GEKT….which didn’t actually spell anything.

Once making it inside, Emma was the one to make sure they had a map. Gia insisted that they didn’t need one, that it was way more fun to just wander around and be surprised; but there was no arguing with Angel Grove’s third baseman. Emma gladly dictated which path would be the best in covering the most zoo territory. Kimberly constantly had her phone out, taking snapchats and updating her story with whatever zoo animals they would come across. Trini made sure to send photos of the elephants to Zack, rhinos to Billy, and any sort of monkey to Jason. Of course their shitty phone pictures wouldn’t compare to Emma’s photos with her professional camera, but it was fun to try.

“No way” Kimberly’s eyes widened with excitement when she spotted the next exhibit along their path. She instinctively took Trini’s arm, motioning up ahead. Trini’s height didn’t deter her from seeing the giraffes up ahead. “We can feed them lettuce”

“What?” Oh Emma’s heart melted, “We absolutely have to” As if Gia and Trini could say no to their girls. Besides, it could be fun?

Kimberly was the one to dish out the cash, she was far to excited to get up close and personal with a giraffe. The exhibit itself was pretty large, giving the animals space to roam. The girls and many others were on a high wooden platform that gave patrons the opportunity to be as tall as one of these majestic creatures. “Oh they’re beautiful” Kimberly commented, surprising Trini, she didn’t think Kim was that into giraffes. She stuck out her hand for a big guy, the giraffe’s giant blue tongue coming out of its mouth and wrapping it around the piece of lettuce making it disappear in seconds.

“Oh, nope! No” Gia was not about that life, “The only tongue I want around me is Emma’s” She commented, making her girlfriend blush profusely despite her back being turned to favor the giraffes. The blonde stepped over to Emma, offering to take pictures for her with her camera, “If you’re always taking them that means you’re never in them”

“Please be careful” After the incident with Red from Briarwood, she was still a bit shaky to who she would let touch her baby. She could trust Gia with her heart, her future, her everything.

Gia for once didn’t check her surroundings before kissing Emma’s lips, a reassurance that her camera would be just fine in her hands. The longer she was out with the other couple, the more comfortable she felt to express herself...and right now comforting Emma trumped her fears of what other people or the giraffes thought. Emma would always come first.

“Make sure the flash isn’t on” Despite Gia having the camera securely in her hands, Emma was going to lean over and point out what buttons to press and more importantly not to press. “And if-“ Gia tilted her head, a look in her eyes as of saying ‘really?’, Gia had modeled for Emma for years she picked up a thing or to on how to take pictures with the fancy camera. “Okay” Emma sighed, “Okay fine”

Kimberly wrapped her arms around Trini from behind, one of her favorite things to do with the shorter girl. “I’m proud of her” She murmured, commenting on Gia’s progression into being out in the open. It wasn’t easy, but that casual kiss was a big step for the senior. Funny. Gia and Emma may’ve been older than them, but Kimberly and Trini had already gone through the coming out growing pains. “Here” She shoved the lettuce in Trini’s hand, wanting her girl to take a turn at feeding a giraffe. Oh she knew Gia would be taking pictures of the couple. Kimberly was so priming Trini so she could change her Facebook profile picture into something cute and adorable with her girlfriend, the giraffe was just a bonus.

Trini wasn’t a huge fan of animals that could easily crush her. It was a huge part of why she never wanted to attempt any sort of horseback riding camp. No way. Horses were terrifying and what is a giraffe but a long necked horse. That wasn’t exactly true, but Trini was hesitant stepping up to the gentle giant. With Kimberly securely behind her, she could muster up the courage to outstretch her hand to feed the damn giraffe. She was supposed to be badass after all and badasses weren’t afraid of zoo animals. All right so it was kind of cool after all. At least it wasn’t a Zebra.

Once Emma could feel like her camera was comfortably safe in its case the group ventured off away from the giraffes. The hippos were cute as were the turtles but they were no tiger exhibit. Emma had to keep reminding Gia and Trini that they needed to be patient. They would get to the tigers eventually. Besides, they were coming up on the exotic bird section which was personally Emma’s favorite.

“Look at this handsome devil” Emma approached one of the cages, inside a vulture craned it’s ugly neck in their direction. “Hi”

“Ah well you got the devil part right” Trini commented quietly, rubbing her neck and facing her head in Gia’s direction so she could at least appreciate her humor. There was nothing cute about this kind of scavenger bird from hell.

“Oh hush” Emma scolded, “There’s no such thing as an ugly animal” She tilted her head, “Don’t let them bully you. I think you’re special”

No such thing as an ugly animal? Kimberly was quick to challenge that, “What about elephant seals?”

Emma looked offended that Kimberly would have the audacity to ask, “Blubber babies with good senses of smell”

Gia wrapped an arm around Emma’s waist to get her to keep walking, of course she had an ulterior motive, she wanted to see those damn tigers. “What about deep sea fish?”

“...Okay...now that doesn’t count…”

Kimberly reached over for Trini’s hand, following a couple of paces behind them. “So I get it, tigers are your favorite” She glanced down to her girlfriend, “What’s your second favorite animal?”

“Oh uh” Trini shrugged, it wasn’t like she had a top ten list on the ready, “I dunno, a cheetah maybe, those are pretty cool” When in doubt pick another large cat. Really, there was no losing with that. Big cats would always be exciting. Lions check, panthers? Sexy. Jaguars also cool, so cool that a car was named after them. “What’s your favorite animal?”

“I don’t know if I have one” Kimberly shrugged, oh that was total crap.

“Everyone has a favorite animal” Trini so did not believe her. She knew many of her friends favorite animals; Lauren and Jayden loved lions, Mia liked turtles so much she owns two as pets, Emily really liked different kinds of monkeys, Aisha’s favorite was a bear, Tori was so that little girl who never grew out of a dolphin phase. Hayley was not secretive of her love for dogs and wolves, nor was Shelby hiding the fact that her favorite animal was extinct for billions of years...the triceratops. Trini didn’t know Mike’s favorite animal, but with the amount he ate she could guess it would be a cow. There’s no way Kimberly didn’t have a favorite animal.

“It’s dumb” Kimberly looked down to the ground, pocketing her hand. What? Was her favorite a damn elephant seal?

“Hey there is no such thing as an ugly animal” Trini pointed out, repeating Emma’s logic. Now she was really curious to what Kimberly’s favorite animal could be.

“You can’t make fun of me” What the hell was she so insecure about?

“I promise, I won’t” Who did Kimberly think she is? An asshole? Okay, well, she was kind of an asshole...that was actually fair.

“Okay” Kimberly let out a breath, avoiding any sort of eye contact, “A scarlet macaw”

Trini had heard of that before...she couldn’t quite place her finger on it. Oh. _Oh._ That was something she wasn’t expecting, “Your favorite animal in the whole world is a _parrot?_ ” She knew she promised but she couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her lips. Kimberly let go of her in favor of shoving both of her hands in her pockets. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry...but I gotta ask...why?” It just...seemed so odd. Even a rabbit made more sense as a person’s favorite animal.

“Ha. Well they’re beautiful for one, the colors are so vibrant” That sounded like an Emma reason, so she elaborated more. “I always liked birds, how freeing it must be to fly around. I wanted one when I was a kid, a parrot. We would go to the pet store all the time...my dad was super into keeping up an aquarium. There was this bright red bird with these beautiful blue and yellow accents on his wings at the front of the store. They’re super smart too” She rubbed the back of her neck, “Before moving to Angel Grove...before the Sandlot, I didn’t have friends. I didn’t have siblings to play with. The house was always so empty so...sterile. We had fish. Oh, my mom would never allow me to get a dog or even a cat so I set my sights on a parrot” Kimberly sighed, she wasn’t always Miss Popular. “God this is so lame”

“Hey, no it’s not” Trini didn’t realize this ran so deep in her girlfriend. She started to rub Kimberly’s back, she never expected the question of ‘What’s your favorite animal?’ To have such a deep seeded response. Hell, she only loved tigers so much because they looked cool. Nothing like this.

“I wanted a bird because then I could teach it tricks, how to talk” Young Kim really set her goals high, “Because then I would have someone to talk to” Oh.

Trini pulled a page out of Lauren’s book, “It’s a really pretty bird” She leaned up to kiss Kimberly’s cheek. She was super relieved that Gia and Emma wandered a bit further up the path...something had caught Emma’s eye.

“Yeah, it really is” Kimberly smiled, she even laughed, “I’m sure my dad tried, but that bird would’ve driven my mother crazy” And everyone who knew the Hart family understood that Madison Hart was the one to have the final say. Teddy boy probably wanted a dog but had to settle for fish. “It would’ve been too much life in the house, God forbid”

Up ahead Gia and Emma were facing one another, it looked like they were arguing about something. Gia’s hands were on her hips while Emma had her arms folded, pouting. Oh boy. They were left unsupervised for like five minutes tops and this happens. Kimberly motioned with her head that they should catch up to their other half. “Come on” She was going to be fine. Trini snaked an arm around Kimberly’s waist this time, wanting to stick close to her girlfriend after a confession like that.

“Emma that’s for little kids, if you want to go to a petting zoo we can go visit the Griffin’s farm and you can hold a chicken or something” Gia sighed, when the other two girls finally joined them she motioned up to the sign above them. Petting zoo. Oh no.

“Oh come on! Why are you being such a brat? It should be fun” Emma still brought on the pouty face, her eyes were getting into the puppy dog territory. “Please?”

Oh no. Trini was definitely on team Gia for this one, but she wasn’t going to crush Emma’s desire to pet a goat or a sheep or whatever. “It’s not like they’re charging extra” She commented with a shrug. Sorry Gia.

“It’ll just be for like ten minutes” Kimberly tacked on, three to one. If Emma wanted something this day, she was going to get it. “We’ll make it fun”

Gia sighed, she knew she lost this one. The blonde shook her head at the younger couple, “Traitors”

“Part of dating is compromising and making your girlfriend happy” Trini was all too smug, trying to sound as much like a textbook as possible in her delivery. She loved being that cheeky asshole.

“Yeah, and a happy girlfriend will let you play petting zoo when you get home” Kimberly added, punctuating her phrase with a wink as she followed Emma inside the petting zoo. It left Gia and Trini outside, frowning at that statement.

“Can we agree to never let the phrase petting zoo catch on?” Gia asked the shorter girl beside her. Trini had to nod in agreement...that one just felt wrong. “Come on T, lets get this over with” Wow, for once Gia didn’t refer to her as Butters, she must really consider Trini a friend now.

The two reluctant girls crossed the threshold of the petting zoo, entering into kiddie land. Emma was already chatting up a young zoo keeper, a rabbit in her arms, cradling it like a newborn. Kimberly had found the ponies and was all about that life. Nope. No way. Trini and Gia mirrored one another, their arms folded, searching for any sort of sanitation station. What was worse? The animals, or the kids with sticky hands? Neither girl wanted to be apart of this, but that wasn't going to stop Kimberly for coming up and trying to get them in the spirit of farm animals. "You guys have to see the pigs" Gia frowned, so Kimberly tried again, "Alpacas?" Trini shook her head-fuck no she did the giraffe she was not going to step near an alpaca. "...Sheep?" If they had to participate, sheep wouldn't be the worst. Fine. Gia and Trini could agree on that, oh Kimberly was sure to get photos off of her phone of this event. Always a model, Gia wanted to look flawless, it didn't kill Trini to smile. They actually looked like they were enjoying themselves.

Emma had returned the rabbit she had been holding in favor of returning to her pack of girls. "See? You're having fun" She pointed out, smiling at the fact that despite her protests, Gia was actually participating in petting zoo activities. "I was talking to one of the zookeepers, super friendly, but if we wanted to milk the goats that's a thing"

"What, because we're "big kids"?" Trini had to ask, laughing, they definitely didn't fit in. The closest kids in age to them had to be ten, which was about the age of the twins. Ugh, those terrors should not be allowed to milk a goat.

"I'm gonna pass" Gia shook her head, no way was she going to crouch down at a goats level to...nope. Fuck. That. "The only tits I wanna handle are-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence" Emma poked a finger into her girlfriend's chest knowing exactly where that joke was going to go. No. She cut her off right there. Gia may've gotten away with it at the giraffe station but she was not going to be talking about Emma's boobs around children in the petting zoo. Still, Trini and Kimberly couldn't help but laugh, so much that they had to physically turn themselves away from the other couple. Gia's lips quivered, her chest shook, she was trying so hard to keep her laughter inside while Emma attempted to scold her.

"Why do you have to make everything inappropriate?" Emma asked, the same question could apply to Kimberly, between the two of those assholes they could turn anything into something dirty. Trini still had a hard time looking at cookies the same way, now she associated the treat with well...a treat in the back of Kimberly's car. "Whatever, you are not tainting this" She glanced over to her one saving grace, to Kimberly, looking a bit desperate at this point, "Will you go with me?"

Kimberly's expression softened, all this poor girl wanted to do was enjoy a miniature zoo with farm animals, "Sure, I'd love to" She offered her arm for Emma to link into. At least those two would have fun, if milking a goat could be considered a good time.

Once the two girls had walked away from them, Trini looked over to Gia and shook her head, "You're an asshole"

"Okay, but it was funny" The blonde sighed, it was too easy for her to make a crack, she didn't mean to hurt Emma's feelings. Gia folded her arms, "I'll make it up to her" Emma could never be upset for very long if Gia had anything to say about it.

Great, their girls were having a grand ol'time with their newfound four legged friend; that meant Gia and Trini could sanitize their hands and be done with this kiddie zoo. The longer they spent leisurely taking the long path, the more people would likely be at the tiger exhibit. Yeah, Trini absolutely had a one track mind. There was one thing that sucked about going to a zoo during spring break and that was the possibility of loud, inconsiderate kids who would take up all the space and not have any sort of awareness to their surroundings...aka the short teenager who wants to see some tiger kittens. Gia must've had a similar sentiment but didn't say anything out loud about it, she knew this was more of Emma's thing so she would have to be patient. The blonde folded her arms, she couldn't appear very tough when watching Emma from afar, Gia carried a certain fondness in her eyes. Boy did she have it bad for her girlfriend. Trini wondered if she had a similar glint in her eye whenever she looked at Kim. So much for being a badass.

Trini's eyes darted down, oh no, they had company...Gia or at least Gia's yellow tank top had an admirer in the form of a goat chewing on the bottom corner of it. The sneaky guy was so stealthy that the blonde couldn't even feel it. "Gia...don't freak out" Trini tried to warn her friend as much as possible, her eyes darting from the blonde to the culprit.

Of course uttering the words don't freak out had a reverse effect. God what was it? A spider? Jake Holling? Gia's eyes went wide, her favorite top had a hole in the corner now...a nasty green ring in the goat's path. "Oh you motherfucker!" Bad choice of words, she couldn't help it, if it were Trini it'd be followed by a lot more obscenities. It certainly drew the attention of everyone around them, a lot of kids learned a brand new fun word. Gia didn't care, whatever be offended, this was her shirt. It was now ruined. Trini rushed to help get the goat away, Emma and Kimberly's time was up they needed to get out of here before this goat could suffer the wrath of Gia Moran.

Kimberly and Emma squirted up on sanitizer and flanked Gia’s sides, effectively linking arms with her to escort her out. Trini took up the rear, awkwardly smiling toward everyone that had been staring at their group. Yep, this was totally a good time, not embarrassing at all. By the time they were out of the kiddie zone, the blonde freed herself from the likes of Kim and Emma to unleash what she had been holding back, "That stupid son of a bitch. Look what that monster did to my shirt" She held it out, still seething mad. Gia cared so much about her appearance, she spent so much time with the upkeep that this would not do. "I can't walk around with this" The green ring was what wigged her out the most, "Nope. Nope. We're stopping by a gift shop" She was determined to change, even if it meant buying a new shirt all together. There was a reason she didn't wear her favorite leather jacket, stuff like this. The zoo was a trap for cute clothes.

Gia didn’t care what animal sights they were passing up. She was gung ho to finding a new shirt, she just felt dirty in this one. She didn’t want the nastiness of goat touching her skin. A sign for an upcoming show was coming up, Emma made a face, not wanting to say anything in fear of Gia snapping. So, Trini was going to be the good person and speak up for her. Sure, she’ll step on that landmine. “Hey cool, a...reptile show” Trini sighed, Emma why? “What if Em and I grab seats while you two get Gia a shirt? We’ll meet up there”

“Yeah” Emma was quick to jump on after Trini’s initial statement, “We don’t all need to go to the gift shop”

“What?” Gia was too in the zone, to really process what the others were asking. She exchanged a glance with Kimberly, the former cheerleader nodding in agreement to the plan. “Okay, yeah, sure. We’ll catch up with you”

“I’ll be sure she picks out something cute” Kimberly grinned, walking the first couple of paces backwards so she could address Emma specifically.

Trini wasn’t expecting Emma to link arms with her as they headed to the small stage area. The senior always liked to be physically close to her friends, it didn’t matter what they were doing. Once they sat down Emma took out her trusty camera, looking through the photos that she had already taken...and making sure the pictures Gia took were actually in focus. “Thank you”

“For what?” Trini asked, this place was starting to fill up with parents and their kids. Hopefully reptiles were cool enough to keep those children quiet.

“Suggesting we come here” Emma definitely was the one who wanted to see the show here. “...Everything. Gia’s really opening herself up” She turned her camera so Trini could view some of the pictures Emma had taken of the group. She had really taken some cute ones of Kimberly and Trini. God, they were so coupley.

“Oh” Trini shrugged, “No biggie” That's what she did now apparently. Jason Scott came out to her about his feelings for Billy Cranston. Trini immediately took Riley Griffin under her wing after Briarwood ‘pranked’ him. She was Angel Groves magnet for gay energy, Gia and Emma were no exception. “I used to be like her” Trini confessed, “Kimberly was the one that wanted to come out, but I just couldn’t”

“It’s not easy” Emma smiled fondly at a photo of Gia she had taken by the exotic bird section. The blonde was naturally as beautiful as the toucan she was interacting with. “Gia wanted to wait until we were at UCLA...that was our plan, to just make it out of High School so we could start our life together.”

Trini rested a hand on her friend’s back, this felt like a comforting moment, Emma didn’t seem to mind. “How are you taking it?” There was more to this relationship than Gia’s feelings.

“I’ve never been happier” Emma paused, “Mayor Udonna didn’t have to replace my camera” She did that out of the kindness of her heart, “I’ve just been so tired about having to lie all the time. It’s like…”

“Like coming up for air after being held underwater for so long?” Trini suggested, that’s what it felt like to her anyway. She was thrown in a lake, it was a pretty fair assessment.

“Maybe not that extreme…” The photographer smiled, “Everything just feels lighter, not just for me…” Gia didn’t have to constantly be on the defensive anymore, she could let go of the box of fear she had been clinging onto so desperately. “Do you believe in soulmates?”

“Huh?” Trini wasn’t expecting that question to come at her. A loaded question at that. Soulmates. A long time ago she would have scoffed about that, a ridiculous notion for people to hang onto hope in a lonely, hopeless world. Now? Now she wasn’t so sure. Was Kimberly her soulmate? The person that completed her? Trini was only sixteen she still had so much life to live...she couldn’t see that life without Kim...her other half. “I dunno” She shrugged, giving Emma a non committal answer.

“I do” Emma watched as Gia and Kimberly entered the amphitheater from the front, coming up the rows to locate their girlfriends. “I think Gia and I were always destined to be together” Big talk from a girl only two years older than her, Emma sounded so sure.

Trini thought back to the first day she had met Kimberly at the Sandlot, that stupid pink glove. The magic of that run down baseball field brought Trini her friend family. Her best friends. Maybe Emma was right about soulmates, maybe the power of the Sandlot brought Kimberly to her so many years ago. That somehow they were destined to be together. God, that was so fucking sappy.

Kimberly sat down next to Trini and wrapped an arm around her torso, kissing the side of her head. Maybe Emma was into something. “Miss us?” She teased, her lips curling up into a smile.

“I dunno it was pretty quiet without you here” Trini teased, her smile betraying her snarky comment.

Gia had found herself a light orange v-neck t-shirt that nicely framed her girls. The zoo had been selling apparel to promote the birth of the tiger cubs so of course that was what the blonde had decided to get. A goat eating her tank top ended up being a blessing in disguise. She looked pretty damn good with her new San Diego Zoo tiger shirt. “I got you something” Gia handed Emma a black plastic bag.

“What? You didn’t have to get me anything” Emma pulled out a book from the bag...a book on California bird watching. Gia knew how much her girlfriend loved birds, and more importantly, understood how much Emma loved taking artistic photos of nature. “Gia” her heart melted, “This is so sweet” As she placed the book safely in her bag, Gia looked over to Trini with a smirk….she was right. Emma couldn’t stay upset for her for too long. Well played Gia Moran.

A cute young zookeeper boy came onto the stage. He wore the typical khaki getup with a red bandana tied around his neck. “Hey everyone my name’s Casey and I’ll be teaching you a bit about reptiles today” He had a couple of different cages behind him, this wasn’t his first rodeo. “Now I’ve been told that there’s a very special birthday girl in the audience today”

“Aww how sweet” Emma commented, keeping her voice low so she wouldn’t disrupt the kids around them. How nice for one of these fine parents to take their child to the zoo on their special day.

He clearly was reading off of a card, “Trini Gomez? Come on up here and be my assistant” Gia had to put a hand over her mouth, Kimberly’s chest shook with a silent laughter. Those fuckers.

“What the fuck did you do?” Trini glared daggers at her girlfriend sitting next to her, she absolutely was behind all of this. Great, perfect, her soulmate was a total asshole.

“Happy birthday” Kimberly’s grin was all too wide, oh she was so fucking proud of herself for trying to pull a prank off like this. “Don’t be shy”

“Karma is a bitch. I hope you remember that” Trini huffed, oh she was not happy about this. Being on stage was a complete nightmare for a girl like Trini. Nope. Presenting in a classroom was hard enough, having an audience, everyone watching her...the worst. Oh fuck Kimberly and Gia, those bitches.

Once Trini got on stage, Casey handed her some hand sanitizer, “Okay, first things first always make sure when handling animals of any kind you keep your hands clean” As Trini sanitized her hands for what felt like the twentieth time today, Casey asked, “So how old are we today? Fourteen?”

“Sixteen” Fuck all of this. Kimberly held out her phone, recording all of this for the likes of Jason, Billy and Zack. Gia let out a cackle, throwing her head back at the zookeeper misinterpreting her age. Trini couldn’t tell from the stage but she could tell Emma was scolding the two of them. Good on her. Though it didn’t stop the girl from taking photos of Trini while she was on stage. As if this was a moment she wanted to remember for the rest of her life.

“Oh, I’m so sorry” He nervously laughed, feeling bad that he was so off with her age. “Sweet sixteen huh? Well thank you for choosing to spend it here at the San Diego Zoo”

“Uh sure” Trini could feel her face heating up, God, she hated being up here so much. It didn’t even matter that these kids would probably forget everything in a day, that the audience was kids to begin with. Trini hated, absolutely hated, being the center of attention like this.

Casey’s little reptile show didn’t start off too bad. Trini didn’t mind holding a turtle, or an iguana, heck even the Chameleon wasn’t bad. No. The whole reason people came to a god damn reptile show was to see some motherfucking snakes. Casey here had a couple, a smaller one that he handled himself. Oh sure, hold the small one. Give the birthday girl the opportunity to hold a snake that felt bigger than she was.

Nope. Nope. Nope. These things probably freaking sensed the fear radiating off of Trini. This couldn’t have been a goddamn bird show? Whatever fun facts Casey was spurting about this bad boy, Trini didn’t hear it. She was too busy making sure not to make eye contact with the snake in her arms. God, these things were weirdly heavy. She knew in the back of her head that she would be safe, Casey would step in if anything actually happened, but there was no logic at this point. Oh this was awful.

“Ah and that’s all the time we have today! Let’s give it up to our new friend Trini” All that mattered to her was Casey was the one handling that behemoth serpent, “Thanks for showing up, and I hope you’ve all learned something today!” He glanced over in Trini’s direction with a smile, “I hope you have a happy birthday” He motioned to a fellow zookeeper off stage, as his hands were pretty full of snake. “Here’s something from us”

His co-worker came onto the stage with a black plastic bag, much like the one Gia had gotten Emma...something from the gift shop. The other zoo patrons were making their way out so Kimberly, Gia and Emma headed toward the stage to collect the fourth member of their group. Trini reached into the bag, sighing in complete relief when the contents inside revealed a tiger stuffed animal...nothing to do with snakes thank god. “Oh! Wow, thank you so much” the zoo did not have to give her anything, it wasn’t even her birthday.

Casey nodded, placing his scaley friend away in its cage. “Between you and me, I’m more of a tiger guy” He softly laughed, tapping his name tag which had an embroidered tiger head next to his name, Casey Rhodes. He then pointed off in a west direction, “If you keep going that way you’ll hit the newly renovated tiger station” he looked down to his watch, “Oh ah, I’ve actually gotta head in that way. We’re feeding them in about ten minutes” he looked down, seeing that Trini’s friends were waiting on them. Right. “I hope you enjoy the rest if your birthday” He smiled and politely nodded in her friend’s direction before having to exit and get back to his job.

“He was cute” Gia commented, as if she and Kimberly didn’t commit such an awful act of treason by setting Trini up to go on stage and hold giant snakes.

“Ugh!” Trini stepped off the stage, punching the blonde in the arm since she couldn’t do that to Kimberly, “You two are awful!”

“Oh but look at this little guy” Kimberly pulled the stuffed animal tiger out of its bag, Emma letting out an ‘awww’ at the sight, “Ah come on it was funny. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t if the opportunity had arised”

“I wouldn’t” Trini shook her head, besides, the likes of Gia and Kim thrived on being the center of attention. That would be doing them a favor. “Because I’m not a dick”

“Mm” Emma wanted to diffuse the situation. She took the stuffed animal from Trini and placed it in her bag, that way her friend didn’t have to carry it around the zoo. “We’re really close to the tigers, why don’t we head in that direction?”

Gia and Trini exchanged a glance. Finally. Finally! Emma was allowing them to see the one exhibit they really came here for. Despite being teenagers in high school the pair of girls freaking power walked in the direction of the big cats leaving their girlfriends in a position to have to follow them. Gia Moran and Trini Gomez were not above gently shoving a kid out of their way.

Feeding time. Of course that would draw in a crowd. The exhibit had been newly renovated, enlarged so the tigers inside would have more room to roam around. It meant more places to view, but that meant cutting through a sea of children ranging from pre-school to junior high. Fuck, they should have come here first. Why were some of these asshole kids so tall?

“Can you see?” Gia asked, glancing down to her tiger-loving companion. Trini huffed out a sigh and slumped her shoulders, being short was actually the worst. She glanced around, her focus narrowing in on a parent with a small child hoisted on his shoulders. Aha! She just had a brilliant idea. “C’mon birthday girl” Gia tapped Trini’s arm so she would follow her in the direction of a nearby bench.

“Sitting isn’t going to help” Even if Trini stood on the bench they would be too far away to see anything good.

Gia sighed, they were in a different city, her tough girl reputation wouldn’t be tarnished when making this offer, “You can sit on my shoulders” As a softball player, Gia conditioned and worked out enough that carrying the weight of a tiny teenager on her shoulders wouldn’t be an issue. “This is the one thing you want to see, right? Like hell am I letting some preteens ruin it” She sat down on the bench, growing impatient, “Well, get on, stop standing there”

Trini would never doubt whether or not she and Gia were friends ever again. There was a time that the catcher was actually afraid of running into the second baseman in the hallways. After the dropped ball incident, Trini figured that no matter how nice Gia played on the inside; that bridge had been burned forever. No, someone who hated Trini wouldn’t offer this. Gia wasn’t doing this to appease or impress Emma, she genuinely wanted to help out Trini...her friend.

Not one to waste anymore of Queen G’s time, Trini carefully sat herself down on Gia’s shoulders. The blonde bit back making a comment about Trini’s catchers thighs. Gia held onto Trini’s legs to keep her in place as she made the ascent into a standing position. Wow, so this was what tall people experienced. Trini could see everything with ease. “...Gia...thank you”

“Just don’t fuck up my hair” Yeah, that response sounds about right. She walked them over to the exhibit, they made it just in time to see Casey and another zookeeper enter the tigers den. It was feeding time, and with the helpful boost from Gia, Trini would be able to see everything. This definitely made up for her part in the birthday prank...Kimberly though was not off the hook.

“Aww, how sweet, our girls are getting along” Emma commented, she and Kimberly had just caught up to their girlfriends. Of course Emma wasn’t going to pass this moment up, with her camera in hand she captured the moment of Gia being nice to another human being. The two self proclaimed hardasses of the group could push that aside to smile for a photo. Hell, Trini was literally on cloud nine up here.

Excitement had been building around them. The tiger cubs had grown curious and started walking towards the mass amount of tiny humans and adults alike. Oh they were so freaking cute. Trini could forgive the volume level skyrocketing, the younger members of the crowd were absolutely losing their shit over these tiny tigers.

Kimberly knew how much photos had meant to Emma and the best perspective would be where Trini was, up above all of the other patrons. Sure, the senior photographer was tall enough to see on her own but...that wouldn’t get the best shot. The pitcher turned to her third basemen and motioned to their girlfriends before asking, “Do you want a boost?”

“Oh” Emma smiled, she glanced past Kimberly to her girlfriend as if asking for silent permission. Gia literally had another girl on her shoulders, of course she was going to nod an approval. The blonde even reached a hand out to hold Emma’s camera bag, “Okay, if you don’t mind?”

“Of course I don’t mind, I wouldn’t have offered otherwise” Kimberly didn’t waste time with a bench, she crouched down right there so Emma could saddle up and perch herself on the former cheerleaders shoulders. “Okay, hold on” Kimberly took a couple of seconds to get her footing down, her knees were going to hate her for this as she slowly-slowly, stood to her feet.

Like a well oiled machine Gia handed Trini the camera case, Trini then offered the bag to Emma. The photographer securely poked her head through the strap to wear the camera around her neck, and then lowered the case down so Kimberly could hold it. This view was perfect and just in time for the Fab Four to watch as these cats ate lunch like a family. Oh this was so freaking cool, and Emma would be able to capture every moment from up here. Gia and Kim earned some massive girlfriend points for this.

The tigers were easily the biggest highlight for Trini and Gia. After they finished with their meal the two cubs would play with one another. The two big cat enthusiasts could stay there all day if their girlfriends weren’t with them...the group had to move on to other things. Gia and Kimberly kept Trini and Emma on their shoulders as they casually walked away from the tiger exhibit. Trini didn’t mind, it was nice not having to walk and from the position on Gia’s shoulders she could look into other exhibits with ease.

Once they made it into a clearing, it was time for Emma and Trini to get off their free ride. Emma was quick to show the group of girls the pictures she had taken. She truly had a talent for this sort of thing, she wouldn’t have gotten such amazing shots without Kimberly’s help. Next on their path was the North America section; wolves, bears and wow Trini had to take back any ill will against horses...they did not compare to the moose. Shit, those things were big.

“Is that…?” Gia tapped Kimberly’s arm, effectively grabbing the other girl’s attention so she could nod her head in the direction of the grizzly bears. Gia recognized that leather jacket anywhere, a couple of yellow bands on the sleeve and a number three on the back. Summer Landsdown, and she wasn’t here alone. The captain of the soccer team had a hand rested on the small of her companion’s back.

“Oh you’re not imagining things” Kimberly watched as Aisha Campbell turned her head in Summer’s direction, smiling and laughing about something. The group of four softball players were too far to really hear what they were talking about.

“We should say hi” Emma wasn’t expecting that they would be running into anyone from Angel Grove...San Diego wasn’t exactly close, if a person traveled there it was in their best interest to stay the whole day.

“We’re definitely saying hi” Gia’s curiosity had peaked. What on Earth were Summer and Aisha doing here alone? The soccer player bid pretty high in the girlfriend auction only to lose out to Jason Scott in the end. She clearly had an interest in the pitcher and made it known. Was this a date? The way Summer stayed close to Aisha, the stolen glances when the other wasn’t looking, clear signs that sparks were flying between them.

Kimberly laced her fingers with Trini as the younger couple followed the likes of Gia and Emma as they made their way toward the bear exhibit. Kim was going to let Gia have the approach. Trini was perfectly okay with taking their grand old time if it meant holding onto Kimberly’s hand longer.

“Aisha! Hey” Gia made first contact, pretending as if she didn’t see her teammate from across the way. “Landsdown” The blonde sized Summer up, the soccer player wasn’t phased by Gia’s scrutinizing gaze, she simply tilted her head to the side, “What’re you guys doing here?”

“Oh” Aisha paused, she glanced over to her zoo companion, “Uh, well, Summer got free tickets from her parents so she invited me out. We’re spending the day in the city”

The Landsdown family was no joke, they were one of the richer families in Angel Grove, on calibur with the Olivers and the Harts. She could afford treating Aisha to a nice day. Summer was a smart cookie, she could see what was going on here. Emma had an arm around Gia’s waist and then there was Trini and Kimberly right behind with the hand holding. A double date. A gay double date. Summer removed her hand from Aisha so she could reach into her jacket pocket, pulling out coupons to a pizza place on sight. “It’s no Zedds but the food here’s pretty good” She offered the slip of paper to Gia, the leader of this gay pack. The soccer player wanted to get in their good graces.

“Aw, thank you” Emma smiled, that was so nice of Summer, “Did you want to join us for lunch?”

“Oh, thanks for the offer but we don’t want to intrude” Aisha declined Emma’s offer in favor of spending more one on one time with Summer, “Besides, we’ve already had something a little earlier”

To Summer these were Aisha’s friends so she rested her hands in her pockets as her companion for the day made her small talk with her friends. How their group date was going, what animals they had seen, baby tiger cub stories. Kimberly going on about how they lied about it being Trini’s birthday. Aisha at least felt bad for Trini and scolded the likes of Gia and Kimberly. There was a lull in conversation between the six of them. The awkward bit about running into someone and not wanting it to become a big thing. Summer used that opportunity to rub the back of her neck, suggesting a “We should probably move on”

“Mm” Aisha agreed with a nod of her head, “Don’t let us get in the way of your date. Have fun, we’ll catch up tomorrow” They still had a bus ride to an away game to look forward to.

“Don’t think you can get away that easily” Kimberly had her phone out, as usual, “What are the chances of us running into each other like this? We have to take a group picture”

Summer shrugged, she didn’t have any qualms about it. Aisha stayed close to her side as Trini, Emma and Gia filed in next to them. Kimberly’s arm stretched outward, using the front cam to get a good gauge to how their selfie would turn out...just a little higher and then she got the grizzly bear in the background. The six Angel Grove athletes made for a hot group of girls. Kimberly was quick to post that one up onto her Facebook.

Before Aisha and Summer could break off, Emma made an offer, “Mm now I want one of the two of you” she had her expensive camera in hand. Emma had an inkling that this day was more important to them then they were letting off and wanted to give her friend a nice memory of their day together.

There was no saying no to Emma Goodall, so the two seniors simply stepped back toward the bear exhibit. Aisha was a bit hesitant on how this should go down, how was she supposed to pose herself with Summer? The confident soccer player took the lead and wrapped an arm around Aisha’s waist, making the other girl smile so naturally. Trini had known the pitcher for a couple of months now, but up until this moment she never really saw Aisha this at ease. She was radiating a different energy that Trini couldn’t quite place a finger on.

When the pair said their goodbyes, Gia asked Emma to view the photo, stating what the other three girls were thinking, “They are totally on a date” She looked off into the distance, the customized three on the back of Summer’s jacket was pretty damn easy to spot. The pair weren’t that far away from the double date, “They’re...holding hands oh my god”

“I think it’s sweet” Emma took a few paces away so she could start taking pictures of the bears in the exhibit. “They’re so cute” She commented, Aisha and Summer or the bears? Both could apply.

“Wow” Kimberly leaned back on the fence of the exhibit, watching as Aisha and her date walk away. “Well, I think it’s great”

“So, what, Aisha’s gay now?” Gia asked, she had a hard time letting this go. In her mind she was going through their history together on the team trying to search for any sort of clues to a possible lean towards the fairer sex…..Aisha never had a boyfriend in her time at Angel Grove, hell, she ever had a girlfriend either. She normally kept her cards close to her chest, never one to take many risks when it came to her dating life.

“She could be bi” Trini shrugged, hell pansexuality or demisexuality were still an options on the table. She had spent far too much time in the GSA, this was Aisha’s identity. They shouldn’t exactly be labeling it without her present. “...She looked happy...that’s what matters” She joined Emma, looking at the bears, “That’s her business”

Kimberly folded her arms, looking in Gia’s direction, “So…” There was always that stereotype about female athletes leaning more toward the queer side of the spectrum. Lauren, Gia and Trini were the hella gay while Kimberly and Emma were more of switch hitters. Ball was out on Aisha to where she stood but clearly she was open enough to go on a date with another girl. Which really left Tanya, Hayley, Shelby and… “...Tori…”

Trini and Emma sighed. Why did the girls have to talk about the others when they weren’t there? Gia grinned, oh she loved the gossip, and more importantly loved trying to pick apart who was into who. “I’ve said it from the start there’s no way that girl is straight”

“Oh stop” Emma scolded, she shook her head at her girlfriends little antics. She was far too used to Gia’s behavior. “Why are you always like this? Leave Tori alone” The surfer had said multiple times that she was only into guys.

“Okay but” Gia was having far too much fun with this. Kimberly would always humor her, “On a scale from Lauren being the gayest and Tanya being the straightest where would you put Tori?”

“Oh” Kimberly tapped her chin in thought. Where would she put Tori? After hearing her break up with Blake and admitting that she wouldn’t kick Kimberly out of bed...Tori may’ve said she was kidding but Kim wasn’t so sure. She wasn’t convinced that she she was at Tanya levels of straight the surfer came off as more fluid so to speak. Tori just never had the opportunity to really explore her own sexuality. “I think-oh son of a bitch”

Trini and Emma had to turn to face Kimberly, the Angel Grove pitcher’s head tilted up, cursing the sky with a death glare. A trail of white bird feces dribbled on Kimberly’s favorite vest. Karmas a bitch Kimberly, she shouldn’t have pulled that prank on Trini.

“Oh no” Emma was quick to put her camera away so she could assess the damage that had been done by an unfortunate flyby. “That should come off, um” She had to shush Gia as the blonde couldn’t stop laughing. Oh so funny. “Gia stop”

“Hey you know they say that’s good luck” Gia grinned, Kimberly did not look pleased with her comment, “And I sure feel lucky”

“Remember that time a goat ate your shirt?” Trini’s brow rose in question, she had to try and defend her girlfriend before Gia could continue on that bit. The reminder of the goat ruining her favorite top definitely got the blonde to stop laughing and glare in Trini’s direction. That was still a sore spot for her.

“I’m just going to go try and wash this out in a bathroom” Kimberly sighed, defeated, she couldn’t walk around anywhere with this much shit on her shoulder. Literally.

“I’ll go with you” Emma reached a hand out to link onto Kimberly’s arm, she was not going to allow this date to be un-fun even through some misfortunes. “Hey it’s going to be okay” When in doubt, just buy a t-shirt. That was what Gia had to do. Kim had the extra money.

The two left Gia and Trini to their own devices, Trini knew that Kimberly needed her space to do this by herself. She wasn’t going to crowd her in a time of embarrassment. Trini looked over to Gia a slow smile forming on her face...as nice as North America was… “Do you want to go back to the tigers?”

A small smirk appeared on Gia’s face as she brought out her cell phone, texting Emma that was where she and Trini would be so they wouldn’t freak out to see they weren’t by the wolves. “I like the way you think Gomez”

By the time Gia and Trini had double backed to the the tigers, the mass amount of small kids had moved on. Must’ve been a class or a field trip, either way, Trini wouldn’t have to sit on Gia’s shoulders this time to view the cubs. God they were so freaking cute. The mother tiger was laying down under a tree, one of the two tiger cubs had pounced on her to bite at her ear while the other played with her tail. Ah motherhood meant there was never any time to rest.

Gia broke apart from Trini so she could chat up a zookeeper. A young man with shaggy brown hair, a name tag reading Jarrod and an embroidered lion on his khaki top. She had been asking him questions about the tigers, the story behind how the San Diego Zoo got the parent tigers in the first place...and of course about the cubs.

Something about him rubbed Trini the wrong way. He was certainly no Casey, the friendly guy from the reptile show. Jarrod here sounded either condescending to her when he listed off animal facts, or worse he thought this was her trying to flirt with him. All the pretty blonde wanted was some super cool tiger facts, not an elitist jungle expert hitting on her. She dealt with that enough in Angel Grove.

Trini needed to do something, anything to get Gia out of there. She could handle herself, sure, but some situations were best left without confrontation. WWKHD? What would Kimberly Hart do? Well...there was one thing. Fuck. Well it was worth a shot.

The shorter girl approached the pair, saddling up to Gia, greeting her with a fake “Hey babe, you ready?” Taking a move out of Kimberly Hart’s girlfriend book, Trini’s hand slid into the back of Gia’s pocket. If this was the jungle, Trini just freaking claimed her mate to bar away any rivals. Trini may’ve been short, but she could sure flip a tough look on like a switch. She narrowed her eyes at the zookeeper making him frown, he had no shot here.

Gia knew this move well, the fake couple to get out of a situation. She was all too familiar with dealing with unwanted attention. For an added measure she leaned over to kiss the side of Trini’s head, “Sorry for making you wait, hun.” She looked to Jarrod and sent him an apologetic look, “I must’ve been chatting your ear off. Thank you again Jerald” she purposely got his name wrong to add insult to injury.

The two girls walked off in the direction of North America to try and reunite with their girlfriends. Gia had her arm around Trini’s shoulders, “Thanks for that back there” A good friend was someone who would constantly look out for the others well being. “That guy was such a tool”

“Anytime” Trini shrugged, no big deal to her. She knew Gia would look out the same way for her. She proved that when she jumped on a guy during the lake incident.

“Trini?”

“Yeah?”

“I know these are quality goods, but you can take your hand off my ass now” Gia laughed as Trini’s hand rocketed out of Gia’s back pocket. She completely forgot. Oh god. Oh god.

“I’m so sorry”

“It’s okay, you’re fine” Gia finally stopped laughing, her arm still draped around Trini’s shoulders, “That was actually pretty smooth. Here I thought Kimberly was the one with all the game” Trini frowned at that, Gia wasn’t wrong. Literally Trini just imitated her girlfriend’s move. Fuck. She needed to work on her own game.

Kimberly and Emma were quick to catch up to their girlfriends. Whatever Emma did in the bathroom to help Kim, it had worked wonders as there was no sign of bird feces on the favorite vest. Phew. The world could breathe a little easier now.

There wasn’t too much of the zoo left. Gia had wrapped her arm around Emma’s waist so her girlfriend was free to take photos of the remaining exhibits. Flamingos were some of her favorites, what was with her and Kim and damn birds? Trini and Kimberly walked a couple of paces behind their friends, deciding to go with a holding hands approach. It wasn’t so long ago, that Trini was afraid to drop the word girlfriend, and now here she was out and about at a zoo...openly holding another girl’s hand.

Once finishing up with the aquarium section the girls decided that it was time to get something to eat. Emma and Trini knew first hand that they couldn’t let Gia and big mood Kim walk around too long without eating. Those two were not fun to be around when they were hungry. Trini suggested that they cash in the coupon Summer had given them earlier. A free large pizza on site sounded pretty damn good. After walking around all fucking day in the sun it would feel damn good to eat something.

Jungle Karma Pizza, an interesting title for a little zoo pizza shop, but the theme sure fit. The four girls were seated in the corner of the place, giving them a great view of the place. The rich color of the brick building brought out the greens of the interior decoration...a lot of leaves and a lot of photos of big cats out in the woods. Tigers, cheetahs, jaguars and lions were the big winners in here. Trini didn’t care, she was just thrilled to see that this place was a brick oven kinda pizza place. She liked to consider herself an amateur pizza connoisseur.

“Hi, I’m Lily, I’ll be taking care of you today” A dirty blonde greeted the foursome with a natural smile. This Lily girl wore an orange shirt with a green apron, sporting an orange baseball cap with green brim...she pulled her uniform off well. “Can I start you guys off with a couple of drinks?” Waters for Kimberly and Emma, a coke for Trini and a lemonade for Gia. “Alright I’ll be out with that in a few, so hold tight” She left the girls to make the most important decision of the day. What kind of pizza to get?

Kimberly, Emma and Trini were far more invested in the menu, Gia was far more interested in watching their waitress interact with the other customers. With Kimberly and Emma following a vegetarian diet it was decided that they would get a large half and half pizza. Trini loved pizza, but she and Gia agreed that there needed to be some sort of meat involved. Pepperoni, Italian sausage oh so many choices. Fuck, Trini didn’t realize how hungry she was until she sat down. This place smelled amazing.

Lily returned with their four drinks and leaned closer to Kimberly’s end of the table. “Have you girls decided on what you want to get?” Gia’s brows questionly raised when Lily rested a hand on Kimberly’s shoulder.

“Oh sure” Kimberly took that to mean that she would be the one ordering. “We’ll be doing a half herbivore half carnivore large pizza” Emma set the coupon down on the table so they wouldn’t forget, if their pizza was free Kimberly had no qualms about adding sides to their order, “Also a side breadsticks and marinara sauce”

“Mm you won’t regret that” Lily reached over to grab the menus, “The breadsticks are awesome” Yeah, but would they even compare to Zedd’s famous cheesy bread? Trini highly doubted it. Another casual touch to Kimberly’s shoulder, “I’ll be back with those shortly”

Gia watched as Lily walked away, using her straw to stir her drink. “Yeah, she definitely has the hots for Kim” Emma rested her head back and let out a heavy sigh at Gia’s observation. Why was she like this? Trini frowned, some other chick was flirting with Kim? How did she not even see it?

“Or” Emma pointed out, “She’s just being nice, because that’s part of her job”

Kimberly glanced off in Lily’s direction, “She did touch my shoulder a couple of times, that is flirting 101” Once Gia put the thought in Kim’s head, the vanity took over. “Can you blame her?”

Trini folded her arms, scoffing, nope she totally wasn’t bothered by the cute stranger potentially flirting with her girlfriend.

“I can when I’m sitting right here” Gia grinned to show that she was mostly kidding with that statement. “She’s probably hitting on you because you come off the most gay”

Okay, now Trini had to bite. “Gia, what the fuck?”

“It’s the vest” Gia nodded her head in Kimberly’s direction, “It definitely trumps lesbian beanie and Emma’s jean jacket”

“Oh and you come off as straight?” Kimberly’s brow arched, thankfully the girls came at an off time, there weren’t many people around to listen in.

“Mmhmm” Gia took a long sip of her drink before responding, “I’m wearing a zoo shirt and jeans.” For being so in the closet for so long she certainly came off like she knew what she was talking about.

“That’s silly” Emma shook her head, “You can’t figure out someone’s orientation just by looking at them” She looked down at what she was wearing, definitely mentally asking the question ‘are jean jackets gay?’ Trini couldn’t help but smile in Emma’s direction, yes, yes jean jackets are very gay.

“Oh sure you can” Kimberly rested a hand on Trini’s thigh, “Just look at how much Trini wears plaid” Gia couldn’t help but laugh, yeah yeah laugh it up. As if she didn’t come off as gay with her usual leather jacket, outside of the zoo Gia wore that damn thing everywhere.

“Hold on” Kimberly realized what Gia implied originally, “No, she didn’t flirt with me because of this vest. I’m clearly the hottest at the table” Oh here comes head cheerleader Kim. Fantastic. All Trini wanted was her goddamn pizza. Lily needed to come back with breadsticks...

“I mean I’m biased so…” Trini did not want to get in the middle of a fight between Queen G and Princess Kimmy.

“You are very pretty” Emma complimented Kim with a smile and a nod.

“I’m working with a handicap here” Gia motioned to the heterosexual zoo shirt she was sporting.

Like a mature adult, Kimberly crinkled up her straw wrapper so she could use her skills as a pitcher to lob the paper material directly between Gia’s breasts. The joys of a low cut shirt with the bonus of cleavage. “You’re definitely not working with a handicap”

Gia was not thrilled about having to dig into her bra to get this fucking piece of paper out, still that didn’t deter her from the comment, “You complimenting my tits?” Trini grabbed Gia’s ass earlier and now Kimberly brought attention to her boobs...what a day for Gia Moran.

“Oh my god” Trini had crinkled up her straw wrapper to throw in Gia’s direction just for being an ass.

“You do have nice boobs” Emma murmured quietly, unlike these two idiots; Emma knew how to be more subtle. She was just dishing out compliments left and right here.

Lily, bringer of sweet salvation, came to the table with their order of breadsticks. Trini didn’t even waste time pulling one out of the basket. Kimberly wanted to test a theory so she asked oh so nicely, “Do you mind bringing us some extra plates?” Great, Trini bit down on the breadstick, Kimberly was pulling out the bedroom eyes.

“Sure thing sweetie, I’ll be right back” Lily walked away. Trini was not a happy camper, breadsticks couldn’t quell what she was currently feeling. Sweetie.

“She’s just doing her job and being nice” Emma wanted to stomp down whatever Gia and Kimberly were doing…for Trini’s sake if anything.

Trini could be smooth if she tried, she just had to make her own moves. The sophomore catcher rested an arm back against the top of their booth. She could cooly eat a breadstick with one hand while her arm was around her girl. As much fun as Kimberly was having, she’d rather scoot closer and lean back into Trini.

“So, okay, I guess the real question is. Do we think she’s into girls?” Gia couldn’t let this one go, if anything she wanted to practice using her gaydar. Not every queer girl would be as blatant as Lauren or as oblivious as Tori—-well, jury was still out on where Tori actually lied.

Emma reached to hold Gia’s hand before giving in and actively participating in this little conversation, “Well, she’s in the food industry so you can’t look at shoes. You can’t look at nails. The only thing you have going for this theory is a couple of innocent brushes with Kim, and that she wears her hat backwards” Wearing a baseball hat backwards was pretty gay. Trini would know, that was her preferred style.

“I say she’s straight and you’re all delusional” Trini wanted to be practical, they couldn’t just assume every girl they came across was gay. She nodded her head back to one of her co-workers, a shorter guy with a blue name tag who watched Lily glide around with a dopey lovestruck look in his eye, “Boyfriend”

Gia shook her head, “She’s way out of his league, that’s just a hopeless crush” She raised her hands in defense, “I say bi until proved otherwise” The table agreed, mostly to get Gia to stop talking about it.

It wasn’t long before Lily returned with their pizza. Summer was right, this certainly wasn’t Zedd’s but holy shit. Maybe she was starving but this pizza was damn good. Trini could push away feelings about the flirting, or whatever that was, because melted cheese, tomato sauce, on dough with pepperoni and sausage sprinkled on the top felt like heaven after walking around all day.

Gia must’ve noticed the bliss on Trini’s face when she asked the couple. “What would you rather have pizza or sex?”

Oh neither girl hesitated. At the same time Kimberly and Trini answered “Sex” and “Pizza” respectively. That was probably the wrong answer as Gia was now trying to drink just so she wouldn’t laugh so loudly.

A scandalized Kimberly turned in Trini’s direction. She literally just picked pizza over sex. “I’m sorry, what?”

Don’t offend the girlfriend, don’t offend the girlfriend. Trini took Kimberly’s hand and kissed the top of it, “What can I say? I’m pizzasexual. I’m sorry it had to come out this way” Sarcastic humor never failed her before. The corners of Kimberly’s lips turned up, she was trying hard not to actually smile at her girlfriends dumb joke. Trini was such an ass.

The best part about pizza was that it could bring people together, no matter the size of a group. It was a comfort food, anyone could sit back and relax when it came to eating this delicacy. Once the girls got off the subject of their waitress’ potential sexual orientation, they could flow into other things. Gia, Emma, Kimberly and Trini made for a perfect balance. Whenever Gia and Kimberly would go off on a tangent, Emma and Trini could reel them back in. The best part about being around Gia and Emma...extending to Lauren and Mia as well, was that they could feel comfortable saying anything without the fear of any sort of backlash. Well, not anything, Gia absolutely roasted Trini for her taste in music.

It sucked so much that Gia and Emma would be graduating soon…

The four girls watched as a young woman with jet black hair came into the restaurant, her arms stretched out wide, “Guess who just quit their bullshit job?”

Lily’s face lit up at the sight of the other woman, “Camille, that’s fantastic!” The pizza place was pretty dead, she had the time to cross the restaurant and embrace the other girl. Camille taking advantage of their closeness to kiss her.

“I knew it” Gia kept her voice low to the other girls. Oh she just loved being right about these sort of things.

Lily turned to address her boss, “RJ it cool if I take a break?” She asked, the man behind the counter shrugged. They weren’t busy at all, he didn’t seem to care at all. “Thank you, thank you, thank you” She grabbed the other girl’s wrist to head out of the restaurant to celebrate.

The manager of the restaurant came over to address the fab four’s table. The chill man rubbed the back of his neck, “So ah I guess I’ll be taking care of you” He bobbed his head from left to right, chuckling to himself, “They’re probably…” Having some sort of quickie? Probably. “Ah, love, I’m sure you ladies understand”

Witnessing someone out in the real life having a moment with, Trini assumed, was a girlfriend really solidified that being out with Kimberly had been one of the best damn decisions she had ever made. Emma was so tired from all of the walking that she rested her head on Gia’s shoulder. Kimberly smiled in Trini’s direction. Trini could relax, and most importantly she and her friends could feel like themselves. That wasn’t exactly the easiest in Angel Grove, but there was strength in numbers, a support system.

“Yeah” Trini nodded her head, a smile forming on her face. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that Gia and Emma loved one another just as much as Trini loved Kimberly. “We know a little something about that”

**Author's Note:**

> So yes bonus to anyone that's reading the sideline stories. Spoiler because of the anniversary but yeah, I'm sure you gathered that Summer/Aisha will be a thing. ;) 
> 
> thank you all so much who's taken the time to read! Hope you enjoyed it


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